Essential Adulting Skills to Have

Remember when they tell you never to rush anything and just enjoy your childhood?

You should have heeded that advice while you still had the time.

But now that you’ve already got out of school and are trying to live your best life, what’s next?

Adulting is next!

While this may not be the most exciting and enticing part of your early 20s or even your mid-30s, adulting is something you’ll need to learn to do anyway. So, learning the ropes as early as now can give you a lot of benefits in the long run.

Below are some of the tips to help you get started.

Working on a Budget

Perhaps one of the most important things to learn early into adulthood, managing your money is an important life skill because it helps you survive on your own when the time comes that you want to live alone (if you still haven’t yet).

There are different facets to budgeting, including:

• Expenses
• Savings
• Taxes
• Bills

Depending on your current priorities in life, you may add more but definitely not eliminate anything from this initial list.

For starters, compute the cost of each item under each category. For bills, you may list down how much your internet, water, and electricity bills are for each month. If you’re renting a place, you may add that one as well.

As for the savings, you need to set a specific amount or percentage of the amount you intend to keep. For best results, do not solely save with the goal of spending it all on something that you want to buy. Instead, consider saving for more than one thing. Consider saving up so you can invest your money somewhere else when you have enough.

Maintaining the Order in the Household

Just like managing your budget, managing your household is another thing at the top of the adulting list. After all, you need to know how to look after yourself, especially if you’re living alone.

This means that you need to be at least familiar with the following areas if you want to have an orderly place to live in:

• Cleaning
• Chores
• Minor repairs

If you’re just starting out and you’re still learning the ropes, there are a lot of online resources that you can consult if you’re confused with something, like which cleaning agent to use to sanitize your sink, for example.

Asking your friends and trusted people can also help you navigate through this tricky time. Especially talk to those who have already started living alone and they’ll most likely be more than happy to give you a life hack or two.

Cooking Your Own Food

You probably have dodged this more times than you can remember, but if you’re set to living alone sometime in the future, you need to at least nail the basics.

With the prices of commodities and other supplies rising by the minute, going for takeout food all the time is not your best bet. The expense just by buying food and not learning to do it from scratch can quickly eat away at your monthly budget before you know it.

Fortunately, you don’t have to go big right away when planning and cooking your own food.

In this case, try to learn the basics first. If you’re having a hard time learning the basics, try to take up some cooking lessons.

Start with egg dishes, some simple salads, rice, and even stews, if you’re brave and confident enough to do so.

Online recipes with videos also abound so it’s not exactly learning from scratch. You have a lot of resources to go around so hopefully it will be a breeze for you to get started.

Getting an Insurance Policy

This is a bit tricky for an adulting skill, but will surely benefit you in the long run if you thoroughly learn the ropes.

Foremost, you need to determine the things or aspects in life where you need to have an insurance policy in place.

Having a life insurance is a given as you can eventually use its benefits no matter what.

Next, do you have a car or another property that will need protection from the elements or from an accident? Consider getting policies for them as well.

As this is a highly technical topic, it’s best to consult your trusted financial advisors for help on this one. For sure, they are more than willing to assist you if you have any questions or concerns when it comes to getting an insurance.

Setting Your Medical Appointments

As a kid, your parents are usually the ones who will do this for you. However, once you decide to live on your own, you’ll need to learn the art of appointment setting.

It’s important to make these appointments even if you’re not “feeling anything wrong” at the moment. Think of it as part of your maintenance to ensure that you’re in the best of health.

You shouldn’t stop at just the annual medical appointments. Don’t forget to include your dental checkups as well because this is part of taking care of your overall health.

If you’re having a hard time deciding how often to pay your doctors and dentists some visits, once or twice a year should be a great number. However, don’t limit yourself to this frequency. Of course, if you can get more checkups in between these periods, the better. 

Starting and Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle

Aside from setting your health appointments, it also pays to keep your body and mind in peak condition to avoid as many concerns as possible.

You may have heard it a hundred times already, but make sure to have a diet regimen in place. Also make it a point to exercise at least three times a week, especially during this time that going out often is not highly encouraged.

Before you try any diet or exercise program out there, be sure to check with your doctor first. This is important to ensure that you don’t have any underlying health issues that may interfere with your fitness goals.

Aside from this, it also helps avoid complications that may arise if ever you find yourself doing too strenuous exercises or getting into a fad diet with no real proof of any benefits to offer.

Learning a New Skill or Two

It doesn’t have to be a work-related skill for it to qualify. It can be a skill you haven’t gotten around to doing because of your previous commitments or responsibilities.

For instance, if you want to learn how to sew, make some time to do just that. Watch a ton of videos, enroll yourself in a relevant quick course, and invest in tools and materials to help you learn the ropes while learning the core concepts.

It may not seem very useful at first, but who knows? It can be your passion project. You may even end up mastering the art and eventually putting up a business to support what you love to do.

While adulting is not the sexiest thing you’ll come across in your current season in life, this is the one that can help you navigate through the hardest of times. In the process, it will make it easier for you to manage your expectations while making the most out of your life.